By
Shawn Sobers, University of the West of England, Firstborn Creatives, United Kingdom, On June 25, 2009
The aim of this research was to use creative media approaches to engage
young people in expressing their opinions, experiences and suggestions
relating to the education system in Bristol, using St Pauls as the prime focus
as a case study.
The aim was to encourage young people to talk to their peers, parents and
education experts about this contentious issue, and also to provide a platform
to express their own views.
The main emphasis of this project was lead by young people with support by
Firstborn Creatives and support staff, who also held the responsibility of
taking the lead and driving the project forward throughout to reach the final
recommendations.
By
Shawn Sobers, University of the West of England, Firstborn Creatives, United Kingdom, On June 9, 2009
Making it work: An enquiry into how companies in the community media sector recruit and retain skilled freelancers.
This report is a timely and original development in the analysis of social
interest creative practice. It takes the debate much further than merely
exploring the merits of such projects, and directly provides an analysis of
the economic and skills base for this area of work – the area of
community media activity within the creative industries.
By
Shawn Sobers, University of the West of England, Firstborn Creatives, United Kingdom, On September 20, 2010
Dr Shawn Sobers – PhD Thesis BEYOND PROJECT: An Ethnographic Study in Community Media RESEARCH QUESTION: According to facilitators, participators and trainees of community media educational activity, what are the prime motivations of involvement, and what impacts and areas of sustainability result from the sector’s instances of pedagogy? RESEARCH CONTEXT: Community Media activities operate in a fragmented landscape of practice, making the notions of impact and sustainability problematic issues to negotiate, and presents difficulties with identifying related evidence. This research presents extensive qualitative ethnographic investigation into the impacts and sustainability in the lives of facilitators, participants and trainees who have been involved in such projects for a minimum of four years. This research evidences the prime motivations of why these stakeholders got involved with the projects from the very beginning, and maps these findings against the impacts and cultural sustainability as articulated, gaining an insight into both the pedagogic journey of the individuals, and the pedagogic qualities of the media projects. This research links practice to theory to address the central research question. It employs methodologies informed by post-colonial theories including auto-ethnography and critical pedagogy to discuss the research findings in context of wider literature drawn from the disciplines of community media, community arts, media education, educational psychology, informal education, anthropology and cultural studies.
